


Madeline

by wingeddeanmon



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Empath Sam Winchester, Happy Ending, Hurt Gabriel, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Mood Swings, Psychic Bond, Psychic Sam Winchester, Understanding Sam, angst with a side of fluff, mentally ill Gabriel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-18
Updated: 2019-04-18
Packaged: 2020-01-15 19:50:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18505882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wingeddeanmon/pseuds/wingeddeanmon
Summary: Boy meets boy, boy yells at boy for his bad driving skills, boy and boy fall in love, boy learns how to navigate his partner's mental illness.





	Madeline

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SuperwholockFamily](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperwholockFamily/gifts).



> To one of my dearest friends. Happy birthday,
> 
> You deserve the world, always keep fighting.

Fall was Sam's favorite season. It was cool enough for him to return to his layers of flannel and cotton, and the scattered leaves were pretty shades of red, orange, and yellow. Throughout the year he looked forward to it, and it was finally here. 

Sam was just getting ready to leave the park when his peaceful afternoon was interrupted. A small, dirty blonde man marched up to him. His eyes were golden and shone in the September sun.

That's all Sam could register before the guy shouted, “Hey, asshole, learn how to park!”

Well that was definitely not what he was expecting. During his stunned silence, Sam looked over at his car. It was crooked but it wasn't that bad. He at least stayed in between the lines and he couldn't pull up any further or his front tires would be in a pot hole that was filled with water. Adding to the mess, there was a small dandelion underneath his tire, leaves crushed and the yellow puff poking out. It wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible either.

“I, uh…”

The man huffed and rolled his eyes. He spun around on his heels, ready to leave.

“Wait,” Sam said, a bit on impulse. “Look, I uh… I'm sorry I… didn't… park well?”

This got an exaggerated huff and an eyeroll. Progress?

“‘T's whatever,” he mumbled, clearly losing all his steam just as quickly as he got it.

“I'm Sam,” he said, deciding to introduce himself instead.

There was a pause as the man considered everything. 

“Gabriel.”

Sam smiled at him. **"Gabriel, huh?”**

“Yep,” he said, even popping his lips on the “p”.

The pair stared at each other a bit longer. Sam shifted awkwardly on his feet, and Gabriel watched his with narrowed eyes that were searching and evaluating him for something Sam didn't know, though he felt waves of curiosity coming off of the strange man.

 **"So are you gonna do it or not?”** Gabriel asked a bit demandingly after a while.

“Do what?”

“Ask me out!”

“Ask… you out?”

“Yeah? Why else would you be staring at me so long? You could've just left already.”

Maybe it was the almost foolish overconfidence, but Sam was drawn to it. He couldn't quite place it but there was something about Gabriel. It made Sam smile and he quickly jotted down his number and handed it to the smaller man.

“Call me sometime,” he said.

Gabriel smiled in returned and winked at him then walked off.

 

They had a whirlwind romance. They saw each other often and Gabriel was so bright, Sam was immediately drawn in. The bond they grew was made quickly but ran deep, and Sam found himself missing Gabriel more and more often.

Just as quickly, Gabriel became distant. He dyed his hair dark brown and became sullen and distracted. Sam got busy with work, and being the one to solely initiate things was tiring. Gabriel's emotions became static and it was harder for Sam to tell what they were. Half the time, he didn't think Gabriel knew either.

 

On one if the days when it warmed up, Sam got a text from Gabriel asking him to come over. So he went, vaguely wondering what he was walking into.

The strong scent of bleach immediately overtook Sam's senses. Frowning, Sam shut the door behind him and went further into the apartment. Empty bags of potato chips and styrofoam noodle cups littered the floor. A large soda bottle sat next to the couch, an empty bottle tipped over beside it.

He found Gabriel in the bathroom, perched precariously on the thin lip of his bathtub. Tin foil was tangled in his hair, stacked in thin strips on top of each other. Streaks of teal could be seen here and there, and the smaller man was working on adding another layer of foil. Sam sighed and gently moved his hands away.

**“Gabe, what are you doing?”**

That got an eye roll and a short huff. Sam grimaced at the sharp pricks of annoyance coming from his boyfriend.

“What does it look like I'm doing?”

Sam sighed and shook his head, not liking how he was acting but he still sensed something was off. He tried to flatten the foil Gabriel was fooling with and got the dye on his fingertips.

“Do you have any gloves?” Sam asked.

“Yeah, on the counter,” Gabriel said and went back to touching the foil. He paused for a moment then, “Under the counter. Or…” Another paused and he frowned. “Somewhere around the counter.”

A coil of dread briefly went through Sam. A glance towards Gabriel showed there was no change in his expression. He quickly shook it off and looked for the gloves. After a brief moment of searching, Sam found a box of gloves inside the bowl of the sink. He put them on and carefully fixed Gabriel's hair.

“What else needs be to done?” Sam asked.

“Need to finish coloring then I have to let it set.”

Sam nodded to him and picked up the bottle of hair dye. He read the instructions on it carefully, every-so-often hearing a huff from Gabriel.

“What?” Sam asked when he was done reading.

“Just put it in my hair and spread it around,” Gabriel said impatiently.

“I don't think that's how you're supposed to do that,” Sam said.

Gabriel huffed again. “It's fine.”

Sam carefully finished Gabriel's hair for him. As soon as it was done, he jumped up, lost his balance, and Sam quickly moved to steady him.

“Hey, **slow down** ,” Sam said gently.

Gabriel blinked for a moment and then, “Why? I wanna do so much stuff, Sammy.”

He reached out for Gabriel and put his hands on his hips to hold him still for a moment. The smaller man still squirmed and Sam sighed and let go.

 **"Dude, what's up with you?”** Sam asked.

Shaking his head, Gabriel pulled away, and Sam felt a pit in his stomach again.

“Nothing's wrong with me,” Gabriel said.

“I never said there was,” Sam said gently. “Okay, I'll order something to eat and we'll finish your hair.”

There wasn't even a pause before Gabriel nodded. Stepping away, Sam ordered a pizza and helped Gabriel with the rest of his hair. When they were done, they ate quietly, Gabriel seemingly duller. Sam got him tucked in and Gabriel clung to him like a lost child.

The next morning, Sam made a small breakfast of toast and jam and brought it into Gabriel. He quietly watched him eat until the food was mostly gone before bringing up his topic, knowing Gabriel would attempt to brush off his strange behavior or stop eating and only pick at his food. Sam sighed and leaned in for a quick miss then looked at Gabriel seriously.

 **"We need to talk about last night,”** Sam started gently. “You weren't…” He stopped, immediately knowing that would also cause Gabriel to feel distressed,”Something wasn't right.”

He winced a bit at the small sense of panic he could see on Gabriel's face. Gabriel curled in on himself and pulled the blanket closer, as if to shield himself with it.

“What, you don't like my hair?” Gabriel asked, clearing attempting to skirt around the conversation.

“No, I think it's nice,” Sam said, not falling for it, “But, Gabe…” He winced again at the chance in Gabriel's face, **“You weren't… you.”**

“What do you mean ‘I wasn't me?’ That's who I am, Sam. And if you can't deal with it…”

“Hey, hey! Never said I couldn't deal with it. **I'm worried, Gabe.”**

“Why are you worried? There's nothing to worry about.”

“You haven't texted me in days, and when you do it's to invite me over and your place is a wreck…" 

Sam sighed and rubbed his face. How many times had Gabriel been rejected over this? Behind the words, Sam knew there was a mountain of distrust and panic. It pained him to know that, but Sam was going to try his hardest to change it.

“I'm not…” Sam paused and sighed, starting again. “ **I just want you to be okay. Whatever you're feeling… I'll be there.** I'll help you through it. I don't care if you're depressed or you're bipolar or whatever. **You don't have to go through it alone**.”

Gabriel's lower lip trembled and he looked at Sam with wet eyes. Suddenly, he rotated his whole body and turned away from him. Sam moved closer, gently touching his lower back.

“Hey,” he said softly. “It's okay. I-”

Just as suddenly, Gabriel turned around and wrapped his arms around Sam, pulling him in closer. He buried his face in the nape of his neck, and Sam held onto Gabriel and rubbed his back.

“I love you,” Gabriel said quietly, his voice tight.

“I love you too,” Sam said softly. **“I'm here for you.”**


End file.
